A CHIP off the old block is how Kraigg Brathwaite seems to see himself.
The soft-spoken 19-year-old opener, playing his seventh Test and his first in front of his home crowd, was quite contented with his own contribution on the opening day of the first Digicel Test between West Indies and Australia on Saturday.
“My father was the same way,” Brathwaite responded when quizzed about his cautious approach to batting.
“At Under-13 level, I was a bit more attacking, but since I settled into three-day and four-day cricket, that was always my style,” Brathwaite said.
The occasion has special significance for Brathwaite, who was pleased with his own effort and the position of the West Indies team.
The hosts closed on 179 for three on a day cut short by 17 overs because of rain.
“It was always my dream to play Test cricket but [playing] at home was one of my dreams as well and I was very proud to play [yesterday] and get a half-century,” said Brathwaite.
“We are in a good position, we have just got to keep going,” he added.Brathwaite admitted that the run rate was a bit slow and identified the challenges faced by the West Indies batsmen.
“With the new ball, [Ryan] Harris was bowling quite good. [Ben] Hilfenhaus was getting some swing but not as much assistance as Harris. Later, with the old ball ,I thought (Shane)Watson had it swinging both ways more than anybody else,” Brathwaite explained.
“Starting out, we said we were not going to back down. We knew the Australians were going to come hard. The pitch wasn’t that easy. As the ball got older, it was harder to score and they were bowling good lines. We decided we were not going to give our hands away,” said Brathwaite, who revealed he was cognizant of the opposition’s frustration over his lengthy stay at the crease.”
